| Chapter
12 |
| 1 | And
the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There
were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. |
| 2 | The rich man had exceeding many flocks
and herds: |
| 3 | But the poor
man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished
up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his
own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a
daughter. |
| 4 | And there
came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and
of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but
took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. |
| 5 | And David's anger was
greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the
man that hath done this thing shall surely die: |
|
6 | And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did
this thing, and because he had no pity. |
| 7 | And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith
the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee
out of the hand of Saul; |
| 8 |
And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom,
and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too
little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. |
| 9 | Wherefore hast thou despised the
commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the
Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain
him with the sword of the children of Ammon. |
| 10 | Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine
house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be thy wife. |
| 11 |
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine
own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy
neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. |
| 12 | For thou didst it secretly:
but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. |
| 13 | And David said unto Nathan, I have
sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put
away thy sin; thou shalt not die. |
|
14 | Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to
the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee
shall surely die. |
| 15 | And
Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife
bare unto David, and it was very sick. |
| 16 | David therefore besought God for the child; and David
fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. |
| 17 | And the elders of his house arose, and
went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he
eat bread with them. |
| 18 |
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants
of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold,
while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto
our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is
dead? |
| 19 | But when David
saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead:
therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is
dead. |
| 20 | Then David
arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his
apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to
his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did
eat. |
| 21 | Then said his
servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and
weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst
rise and eat bread. |
| 22 |
And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who
can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? |
| 23 | But now he is dead, wherefore
should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not
return to me. |
| 24 | And
David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and
she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. |
| 25 | And he sent by the hand
of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the
LORD. |
| 26 | And Joab fought
against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. |
| 27 | And Joab sent messengers to David,
and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. |
| 28 | Now therefore gather the
rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I
take the city, and it be called after my name. |
|
29 | And David gathered all the people together, and went
to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. |
|
30 | And he took their king's crown from off his head,
the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was
set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great
abundance. |
| 31 | And he
brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under
harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the
brick-kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So
David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem. |
